Diesel the Police Dog Killed by Terrorists Now a French Hero

Diesel the police dog was killed by terrorists when security services raided jihadists holed up in an apartment north of Paris on Wednesday. Now she is a French hero.

The hashtag #JeSuisChien (I am a dog) was trending on French Twitter soon after the news of her death during the early morning raid punctuated by automatic gunfire and explosions, said news service AFP.

"Diesel, a seven-year-old Belgian Shepherd, a female assault dog ... was killed by terrorists during the operation," said French police on Twitter.

Assault and explosives detection dogs are vital in the operations of RAID, the specialist anti-terrorist unit of the French police which launched the dawn assault targeting the suspected mastermind of Friday's attacks in Paris.

Two people were killed in the raid, one of them a woman who detonated an explosives vest. Seven other people were arrested. Five police officers suffered minor injuries.

The operation was part of a manhunt to find any links to the devastating string of attacks on Friday that left 129 dead and hundreds injured in a concert hall, bars and restaurants and outside France's national stadium.
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